CONFLICT AND TENSION 1894-1918 REVISION BOOKLET 1 THE ORIGINS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR What was Europe like before the war? Great Britain Russia - Wanted to maintain their imperial and naval - Had a large but ill-equipped army. supremacy. - Had a long-standing rivalry with Austria- - Did not want to get involved in European affairs – Hungary due to the high Slavic population in they were in ‘splendid isolation’. the A-H empire. - Was a strong trading nation, which, by 1914 had been - Fought and lost a war with Japan in 1905 and overtaken by Germany in chemical and steel therefore could not afford another one. production. France Serbia - Had a long- - Gained standing feud independence with Germany as from Turkey in they had been 1878. defeated in the - Wanted to join Franco-Prussian with Bosnia due War and had lost to the number of Alsace-Lorraine. Serbs living there. - Was not on good - Believed in pan- terms with Slavism. The Britain as they biggest obstacle had squabbled to this was the A- over land in H empire where Africa. Slavs lived under - Was worried Austro-Hungarian about the growth not Slavic rule. of the German military and industry. Germany Austria-Hungary - Unified in 1870. - Had a large empire made up of several - Bismarck wanted to maintain dominance through creating nationalities. It wanted to keep their alliances but wanted to weaken and isolate France. empire strong. - Wanted to increase the size of their empire and navy. - Wanted to take over the weakening - Was also worried about the growing size of the Russian Ottoman Empire (Turkey). army. - Was worried about Serbia. The Alliance System - The Triple Alliance 1882 - was arranged by Bismarck (the German Chancellor). Germany were aware that France would want revenge for its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War therefore the Triple Alliance was designed to a) alienate France and b) create a military alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy in case of invasion from a foreign power. - The Triple Entente consists of 3 separate agreements. o The Franco-Russian Agreement 1894 – had the intention of encircling Germany. This was a military alliance but these two countries only promised to defend the other if Germany attacked either of them. 2 o The Franco-Russian Agreement could only be signed after the Reinsurance Treaty between Russia and Germany had lapsed. Wilhlem failed to renew it after Bismarck was dismissed meaning that Russia was now free to form alliance with another country. o The Entente Cordiale 1904 - was signed between Britain and France. The two countries agreed to stay on good terms and settled colonial disputes in Africa. Britain was following a policy of Splendid Isolation at this time – they did not want to interfere in European affairs and therefore these agreements are seen as a way of preserving British supremacy in areas that concerned them. Although this is not a military agreement Germany saw this a threat that needed to be tested. o The Anglo-Russian Alliance 1907 – another agreement that settled colonial disputes between Britain and Russia. This was signed following the first Moroccan Crisis where Russia supported France. This was not a military agreement but the result of these three agreements made Germany feel encircled. What are the key differences between the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente? How did the alliance system cause tension in Europe? (What specific events SHOW that the alliance system led to increased tension? German Foreign Policy – Weltpolitik When Kaiser Wilhelm came to power in 1890, Germany had an incredibly small overseas empire. Why did Germany have such a small empire? How did this impact German Foreign Policy? Germany felt threatened by the big empires of Britain and France and felt that Germany should have an empire of their own. Wilhelm’s policy to achieve this was called ‘Weltpolitik’ or World Policy. Germany was looking for their ‘Place in the Sun’. To achieve this, Wilhelm was inspired by the British Empire. He believed that Britain had gained their empire through their naval power and therefore believed that Germany needed to expand their armed forces to achieve their imperial ambitions. How did Weltpolitik lead to war? Think of Why did Germany feel that Weltpolitik was specific events. justified? Why did Weltpolitik make Britain anxious? 3 The Arms Race on Land 1900-1914 - Strong armies were seen as a way of preventing wars from breaking out as they would act as a deterrent. Explain this idea in your own words. - All European powers except Britain had introduced conscription by 1914. - All nations began to make war plans. Why are the two points above significant when discussing militarism pre-1914? The Anglo-German Naval Race Britain needed a navy for three main reasons: 1) 2) 3) - Britain introduced the two power standard in 1889 in order to maintain their naval dominance. - In 1898 Wilhlem ordered Admiral Tirpitz to build up the German navy to rival Britain’s. Germany’s Second Naval Law in 1900 meant that by 1906, the size of the German navy had doubled. - In 1906, Britain introduced the dreadnought. By 1908, Germany had created their own version of the dreadnought. - The dreadnought race reached a peak in 1909. The British public were demanding for 8 dreadnoughts to be made per year. How did the naval race contribute to war? The Moroccan Crisis, 1905 The First Moroccan Crisis 1905-1906 (The Algeciras Crisis) As part of the Entente Cordiale, Britain agreed that Morocco fell within the French ‘sphere of influence’. However, Kaiser Wilhelm decided to interfere and declared that he supported Moroccan independence. He did this for two reasons: 1) To try and increase German influence in Africa. 2) To test the strength of the Entente Cordiale. This made France mad! Germany’s declaration of support for Morocco led to France threatening war. Britain suggested that a conference be held instead. 4 Leading to the Algeciras Conference (Spain) in 1906 - Austria-Hungary and Morocco supported Germany, whilst Britain and Russia supported France. - France was given joint control of the Moroccan police force, as well as control over politics and the economy. - Germany were told that they had no say over Morocco and a result felt humiliated. Key results of the Moroccan Crisis, 1905: 1) The Entente Cordiale was strengthened because Britain had supported France against Germany. They had succeeded in holding back German influence in Africa. Following the conference, France and Britain started holding secret military talks. 2) France had gained control over the economic and political affairs of Morocco. They also gained joint control of the Moroccan police force with Spain. 3) The Kaiser left the Algeciras Conference very bitter at how he had been treated by Britain and France, and the way German ambitions had been ignored. 4) In 1907, Britain and Russia signed the Anglo-Russian Agreement. Alongside the Entente Cordiale and the Franco-Russian Alliance, this formed the Triple Entente with Russia. This further threatened Germany because it felt that this new alliance was an attempt to surround it. 5) The Agadir Crisis, 1911 - In 1911 the French helped to put down a rebellion in Morocco. This provided them with an opportunity to take Morocco. - France offered compensation to countries that were concerned by these actions, however, the Kaiser sent a gunboat ‘The Panther’ to the port of Agadir in Morocco. - Germany claimed to be protecting their ‘interests’ in Morocco, but it was seen as a warlike over-reaction of Germany by Britain and France. - Britain believed that Germany wanted to set up a naval base in Morocco to challenge their one in Gibraltar. David Lloyd George made the Mansion House Speech in which he declared that Britain would be willing to go to war if their position was threatened. Key results - Another conference was held, in which Germany was given land in central Africa, the Congo. 1) Once again, Britain and France had stood firm and Wilhelm had been forced to back down. 2) Wilhelm was determined that the next contest would not be one in which he looked foolish. Germany would be unlikely to back down in any future crises. Wilhelm said: 'these events have shown the German people where its enemy is'. 3) Britain was becoming increasingly convinced that Germany wanted European domination. 4) Britain and France made a secret naval agreement whereupon Britain promised to defend the northern coast of France and France promised to defend the Mediterranean. 5) Italy opposed German actions at Agadir which pulled them further away from the Triple Alliance. Germany had to rely on Austria-Hungary more for support. 5 The Bosnian Crisis, 1908 Background to the crisis - Serbia had recently become independent (treaty of San Stefano 1878), and they believed in pan-Slavism. As Bosnia had a high percentage of Serbians living within in, they wanted Bosnia so that Greater Serbia could dominate the Balkan region. - The Balkans had been ruled by the Turkish Empire, however their power was declining (they were the ‘sick man of Europe’). - Austria-Hungary also had ideas to take over Bosnia as if Serbia were successful in spreading their nationalistic ideas then this would weaken their empire as all the nationalities within it would also want independence. The Crisis - In 1908 there was a revolution in Turkey. Austria-Hungary took the opportunity to annex Bosnia and take it into their empire. - Serbia was furious and appealed to their ally (their ‘big brother’) Russia for support. Germany had made it clear that if Russia intervened then they would declare war on Russia. As a result, both Russia and Serbia backed down. Results for the Triple Alliance Results for Russia and Serbia - Austria-Hungary was confident as - Russia was humiliated at having to they had received Germany’s let down Serbia, and promised not to let them down in the future.